Hydraulic operator for winches



Feb. 10, 1953 I s. COCHRANE ETAL HYDRAULIC OPERATOR FOR WINCHES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 2, 1947 5tanley Goa/mane fl/bert RGarpenter WM (Ittornegs Feb. 10, 1953 's. COCHRANE EFAL 2,627,725

- HYDRAULIC OPERATOR FOR WINCHES Filed June 2, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 v Moan tar;- Stanley Joe/vane fl/bert R Carpenfer attorneg Patented Feb. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFICE HYDRAULIC OPERATOR FOR WINCHES Stanley Cochrane, Rose Lake, and Albert R. Carpenter, Cataldo, Idaho, assignors of one-third to A. E. Lunden, Coeur dAlene, Idaho Application June 2, 1947, Serial No. 751,890

2 Claims. 1

Our invention relates to improvements in a hydraulic operator for winches.

It is the principal purpose of our invention to provide an improved winch and particularly a novel means of driving and stopping the rotary drum embodying a friction drive to the drum from a rotating shaft mounting the drum and hydraulic means for applying and releasing the friction drive.

It is a further object of our invention to provide a novel control device embodying an hydraulic fluid cylinder in the supporting shaft of a cable drum and means for forcing the fluid from said cylinder while the shaft is in continuous rotation to actuate a friction clutch between th shaft and the drum.

It is a further purpose of our invention to provide a new improved construction for combining standard internal expanding clutches and their housings with a drive shaft and a drum shell whereby to drive the drum shell from the shaft.

It is a further purpose of our invention to provide a novel mechanism for actuating the clutches referred to above by means of a lever through an hydraulic cylinder and piston carried in the drive shaft and rotating with it.

Another purpose of our invention is to provide a novel control mechanism for a winch wherein the drum may be driven from the shaft carrying it or held still by operation of a single control lever.

The novel features that we consider characteristic of our invention are set forth with particularity in the claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from a description of a specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a, longitudinal sectional view through a winch embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic sectional view taken substantially on the line 2--2 of Fig- Figure 8 is an enlargedisectional view taken substantially on the line 8+8; of Figure 7.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figure l and Figuljes'fi and 6 our invention is shown as comprising a winch wherein the drum is driven from a continuously driven shaft I and controlled in a novel-manner by a small hand lever The shaft I0 is mounted in suitable bearings 2 and I3 on to supporting channel irons I4 and i5. The channel {1x911 may desirably be a part of the frame of atfruck or tractor and a floor H3 is usually provided between the channel irons and beneath the shaft |0. At one end of the shaft we provide an enlarged portion H which is threaded as indicated at l8 and provided with a small shoulder at l9. A-hub is mounted on the shaft between th threaded portion l8 and the shoulder 9 to bear against the shoulder IS. The

, hub is keyed on the shaft by a key 26 and is locked in place by a nut 2|. The hub 20 has a sprocket wheel 22 boltedthereto and also has a back plate 23 of a friction clutch assembly bolted thereto by means of bolts 24. The back plate 23 is utilized to support friction clutch shoes 25 (see Figure 2). These shoes are fastened by studs 21 that are removably bolted to the back plate 23 and secured to flanges 28 of the shoes. .The shoes are urged toward each other by a spring 29 and are adapted to be spread apart by an hydraulic cylinder 30. The shoes are housed in a clutch housing 3 The housing 3|, the back plate 23 and the shoes 25 and 26 together with the spring and cylinder are a standard article of manufacture as is commonly used for internal expanding brakes on trucks and the like. The details of this assembly are wellknown and no claim is made here to any novelty the particular parts of this standard construc- The enlarged portion I! of the shaft also mounts a roller bearing 32. The bearing is held in spaced relation with respect to the hub |8 by a sleeve 33. Acircular plate 34 is welded to the face of-thehousing fl and the housing and plate rest on the outer race of the bearing 32. A narrow ring 35 is welded on the plate 34 to provide a stop for the bearing 32. A drum shell 35 is set into the plate 34 as indicated at31 and is welded to the plate as indicated at 38;

5 At the other end of the shell 36 from the plate 34 a similar pla te 39 is weldedto a clutch housing 40 which is similar'in all respects to the housing 3|. Clutch shoes 4| are provided in the housing 40 and are'anchored to a backplate 42. The studs 43 which fastenthe shoes 4| to the back plate 42 aresimilar in all respects to those 3 shown at 27. The shell 36 is set into the plate 39 at 4 and is welded at 45. A small ring 45 is also provided on the plate 39 to form a stop for a roller bearing 4! that is mounted on an enlarged portion 48 of the shaft It). The enlarged portion 48 of the shaft Ill forms an abutment for a flange 50 which is welded to the shaft. The back plate .42 is secured to the flange 50 by bolts 5 l. A spacing sleeve 52 is mounted between the flange 5B and the bearing 41. The shoes 4| are actuated in the same manner as the shoes 25 by means of an hydraulic cylinder 53.

The shaft H3 is adapted to be continuously driven by means of the wheel22 from a suitable source of power such as the power take-oft of a vehicle on which the winch is mounted. In order to supply hydraulic fluid to the:oylinders 30 and 53 I provide two fluid conduits 54 and 55. The conduit 54 extends from the cylinder 30 through the back plate 23 and the wheel 22 and through a" slot 56 in theshaft til; then lengthwise of. the shaft i ll. and through another: sloti'l in. the. shaft to a coupling 58. The flange. 50 is cutout'as indicatedto permit passagaoflthe conduit'54. The conduit 55 extendsthrough the back plate 42 to the coupling 58; I

The. coupling" 58- isthreaded into the shaft H) which has a passage .60 therein leading to an operating cylinder 6 that is' mounted in the shaft. This small cylinder 5] is secured. in. place by an endplate 52 that is bolted tothe end of theshaft. A'piston 63 is mounted in the cylinder 6i and has a square piston rod 84 projecting through the plate 62. The plate 62 has a squared opening for the rod- 64 so that the rod must turn with the shaft and the plate. A spring 55 in the cylinder 61 has sufficient strength normally to hold the piston 53 retracted to the full extent of its'travel.

In order to operate the piston rod 64 we mount a shell 66 over the end of the shaft ill by welding thereon an upper supporting strap 51 which is bolted to the bearing [2 and a lower supporting strap 68 which is bolted to the channel iron 15. A rubber diaphragm 69 is mounted between the plate 82- and a washer N! which is secured on the rod 64 so as to keep dust and dirt away from the rod 66 and the cylinder 61. The rod 64 has a round end H extending beyond the washer ill into a cup T2 that carries a thrust bearing '13. Theoup 12' has two cars at the back end and a pin. 14' therein to receive the slotted end 75. of ahan'd' lever l-l'; This lever is pivoted on apin lfitthatis mounted on ears-1"! provided on the shell 66.

The power is supplied for rotating the shaft It from any suitable source through a chain IS-(see Figures 2 and 3) which drives a shaft 19. The shaft 79 has a sprocketwheelaflthereon which drives a chain 81+ The chain 81 is applied to the wheel 22 to supply the motive power for the shaft l0. In winches of this character, the drum is only rotated at the desired intervals but it is highly advantageous to have the motive power available at all times in: the drum. The present construction provides this motive power'by the arrangement for continuously driving the shaft I0. The mounting of the control cylinder and its associated parts in the end of the shaft it makes it possibletohse a simplehand lever-cont'rol with a minimuinof parts for-controlling the drum.

- Itis necessary to have means-to hold thedrum stationary. "In the present instance, We provide means under the-control of the operaGQI. by which he may stop the drum and lock it in position. The stopping means is shown best inFigures 1 and 6 as a simple mechanical brake band 82 mounted on the housing 3]. One end of the brake band is shown as fastened to a lug 83 that is mounted on the channel iron 15 and extended outwardly to receive a threaded rod 84 which is attached to the band. The rod is adjustable with respect to the lug and is locked in place by nuts 85 and 85. The other end of the band 82 is secured on a crank arm 8! which is mounted on a shaft 88. The shaft 88 is journalized in a bracket 89 that is secured to the floor It and extends across the floor through the channel iron I 4 where it is provided with a foot lever 90. The shaft l6 rotates in the direction indicated in Figure 6 so that the pull on the band 82 is taken by the lug 83.

An additional locking means is also provided by securing a ratchet ring 9| on the plate 39 and providing a pawl 82 for-engaging the ratchet ring 9!. The pawl BZ'is pivoted. by means. of. a

bolt 331 11 a bracket that ismountcd on-the floor it... The pawl 92. is thrown up against the teeth of the ring 3|. by hand whenever the drum is stopped and. ity is desired to lock; it against creeping due. to the continuous rotation of the shaft, 1'6.

The preferred form of control mechanism for operating the piston. rod 64 is. that illustrated in Figures 1 and 5.. However; another simple form of control may be used andv such a control is shown in, Figures 3 and, In this form. of the in.- venti m, the shaft I0 is extended at [0a beyond the. channel iron l4, and receives a sliding: tube 95. The tube 95 is guided entirely by the shalt [0a and has the cup shaped member 7.2a secured therein and provided with. aball bearing 13a for engaging the end of. the rod- 64. To operate the piston rod, meansare; provided for sliding the tube 95 on the. shaft l-Ba. These means comprise ears 9.6 and 911- on the tube; the ears having vertically elongated slots 99 and we therein. A hand lever WI having a yoke M2 at its lower end is pivotally supported on a bolt [03 that isoarried by two sup porting bars I04 and 1.0.5 which are mounted on the channel iron [4. The ends of the yoke 32 have pins 166 and H11 extending into the slots 99, and. an. It will be evident that by swinging the lever [M about its pivot the tube 95 can be moved along the shaft Illa to force the piston rod inwardly. In this form of the invention as well as in the preferred form previously described, the spring 55 serves to return the piston rod to its neutral, position any time the control lever is released. In. some cases itjis, desirable to utilize hydraulic braking control to stop the drum as well as to drive it and to so arrange'the parts that one lever may control the entire operation. In Figures '7 and 8 we have shown. such a construction. In

this case, of course, the drum is driven from only one end while the housing-at the other end is utilized to provide a, braking surface to stop the drum. The shaft 9- in the form of the invention shown in Figure '7 is mounted in the same manner as in the mainform of the invention and. contains the same hydraulic cylinder as in the main form of. the invention In this case, however, the only connection from the cylinder is the pipe i551 which leads through a sprocket wheel i2-2 and the back plate I42 to the clutch shoe cylinder within the housing 140. A plate I 39 is weldedto the housing I40 and a, drum shell I36 is mounted on the plate I 39 in the-same manner as in the main form of the invention. The bearings for the drum are mounted on the shaft 1 H9 in the same manner as they are mounted in the main form of the invention.

The principal change in the construction lies in the fact that the back plate 123 instead of being secured to the shaft as in main form of the invention, is now secured by brackets I08 and I09 to the channel iron H5. The pipe 159 from the clutch shoe cylinder within the housing I31 is 7 led through the back plate S23 and extended across the machine to a housing I66 which replaces the member 69 of the main form of the invention. The housing N36 is secured on the channel iron 1 it by the same brackets as are used for securing the member 96. The top bracket 16? is shown in Figure 7, out the lower bracket 199 is not illustrated.

In the housing 186 there is, of course, the same control mechanism for the main cylinder I61 as 5 has already been described with this exception, that the cup 172 now merely bears against an enlarged rounded end 173 on the operating lever iii.

A second cylinder l6i similar in all respects to the cylinder iii is mounted in the housing 196 and has a piston rod I62 therein. The pipe I59 leads to the cylinder 16! at its end most remote from the lever ill. The piston rod I62 is also pushed by the spring in the cylinder IE! to engage the head 173 on the lever. The operation of this control mechanism is substantially as follows. Assuming that the shaft 150 is being driven and that the drum is to be stationary. The lever Ill would normally be in the position shown in Figure 8, that is, a neutral position where the springs in the cylinders 6i and I91 have pushed their respective piston rods outwardly to where they center the lever ill from both sides. Now if the lever ill is moved in a counterclockwise direction it will cause the cup I72 to shove the piston rod 69 inwardly against its spring 05 to supply fluid to the clutch cylinder in the housing 140. This will cause the shoes in this housing to engage the housing, thereby coupling the drum to the shaft H0 for rotation. When it is desired to stop the rotation of the drum, the lever l I l is turned back in a clockwise direction to engage the piston rod [62 and force it into the cylinder 16! against the pressure of the spring 65 therein. This in turn will supply fluid to the control cylinder for the clutch shoes within the housing I31 to cause this housing to be held stationary since the back plate I23 on which the shoes are mounted is secured by the brackets I03 and I09 to the channel iron H5. It is thus possible to start and stop the drum by the manipulation of the lever I l I alone.

Referring now to the main form of the invention as shown in Figure 1 the manner in which the winch is assembled will be described. The shaft is provided with the flange and, of course, the plates 34 and 39 are welded to the shell 36 and to the housing 3! and 40 before the assembly is commenced. The shaft is fitted with the connection 58 and the pipe 54 is fitted into the slots 56 and 51. A flexible copper tube is entirely satisfactory for the pipe 54 since it may be bent to the desired shape. The back plate 42 with its shoes 41 and associated parts is next bolted to the flange 50. This back plate has to slide over the left hand end of the shaft as shown in the Figure 1. The pipe is then connected up to the cylinder 53 and the coupling 58. Next the spacing sleeve 52 and the bearing 41 are put in place. Then the assembly of the drum shell and end plates with the housings 3i and 60 is moved onto the shaft it until the ring it engages the bearing 41. The bearing 32 is then put in place and the sleeve 33 is placed against it. The pipe 54 is, of course, extended endwise beyond the end of the shaft at this time.

The assembly is completed by mounting the back plate 29 and the sprocket wheel 22 on the hub 20 and sliding the hub onto the shaft. The key 26 secures the hub against rotation on the shaft. The coupling of the pipe 54 to the cylinder is not made until the nut 2| is tightened up to lock the parts together. When the pipe 59 is connected up the shaft I0 is then mounted in the bearings 12 and i3 and the control mechanism is mounted.

It is believed that the nature and advantages of our invention will be clear from the foregoing description. Having thus described our invention we claim:

1. In a winch operating means, the combination with the frame and the power shaft of a winch, of an hydraulic control cylinder within the shaft, a piston in said cylinder, a piston rod secured to the piston, said rod being non-rotatably mounted in said shaft and projecting therefrom, a thrust bearing member rotatably receiving the projecting end of said rod, spring means in the cylinder urging the piston rod against the thrust bearing member, and manual means on the frame for moving the bearing member endwise of the shaft toward the cylinder, said manual means comprising a shell over the rod and bearing and a lever pivoted in the shell and operably engaging the bearing member. 1;

2. In a winch operating means, the combination with the frame and the power shaft of a winch, of an hydraulic control cylinder in the shaft, a piston in the cylinder, an operating rod secured to the piston, coaxial with the shaft and projecting therefrom, spring means in the cylinder bearing against the side of the piston opposite the rod, manually operable means for pushing the rod inward in opposition to said spring means, said manually operable means comprising a cup rotatably receiving the end of the rod, a hand lever on the frame, carrying the cup and operable to push the cup and the piston rod axially of the shaft, said rod having a noncircular cross section in the shaft, an end plate secured on the shaft, having a guide opening slidably and non-rotatably mounting the piston rod, a rubber diaphragm around the rod and seated against said end plate, and a washer secured on the rod outwardly of said plate holding the diaphragm against the end plate.

STANLEY COCHBANE. ALBERT R. CARPENTER.

REFERENGES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 906,841 Whitcomb Dec. 15, 1908 1,298,956 Johnson Apr. 1, 1919 1,394,952 Swanson Oct. 25, 1921 1,677,338 Hale July 17, 1928 1,864,126 Ferris June 21, 1932 2,159,127 Doty May 23, 1939 2,189,373 Steel Feb. 6, 1940 2,197,063 Ashton Apr. 16, 1940 2,276,009 Baldwin Mar. 10, 1942 

